


Life's Greatest Blessing

by gracie_the_shadow_writer



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Family, Fluff, Gen, Humor, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 14:20:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12913698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracie_the_shadow_writer/pseuds/gracie_the_shadow_writer
Summary: In the Lightwood-Bane household, there is never a dull moment. Whether it be turning cats bright pink, or accidentally setting off a glitter bomb, there is always a small problem to be fixed. And do you know what? Alec wouldn't change it for the world.





	1. The Situation with Chairman Meow and Church

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alexandermylove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexandermylove/gifts).



> The title of this fic was inspired by this quote: https://www.goodmorningquote.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/family-love-quotes.jpg
> 
> This is my gift for the Malec Hiatus Fic Exchnage! I had such a fun time writing this. I wasn't sure if you wanted this written in Book!verse of Show!verse, but I wrote it in Show!verse because that's what I'm used to writing.
> 
> I hope you like it!

Alec woke up to the sound of tiny giggles coming from outside the bedroom. He opened his eyes smiling, knowing exactly what that sound meant; the boys are up. He rolled over onto his side, now facing Magnus, who was sleeping next to him with an arm thrown securely over his waist. Alec reached over to try to wake him up. He hated to wake him, but two kids is hard enough for one person to handle, even for a Shadowhunter.

“Magnus,” he whispered, shaking him lightly. “Magnus, it’s time to get up. Max and Rafe are up, and I could use the assistance.”

Magnus stirred, rolling over onto his back. He sighed happily, and his eyes fluttered open. “Good morning, Alexander,” he murmured sleepily. He shifted closer to Alec, and he burrowed his face into Alec’s neck, soaking in his warmth. He groaned. “I’m not ready to wake up yet,” Magnus whispered, “I was having a lovely dream…” Magnus trailed off, looking up at Alec.

“Hm, about what?” Alec inquired, rubbing his hand up and down Magnus’s arm.

“Well, it involved being out in the rain, and your lips on mine,” he answered, raising his hand up to trace Alec’s lips with the tip of his finger. Alec looked down at Magnus’s hand, and saw his engagement ring glistening in the morning sunlight. He thought that after proposing to Lydia to help his family, that he would never say those words to someone he loves. To someone he actually wants to marry. Just the thought of Magnus one day becoming his husband sent a thrill up his spine, and a flutter to his stomach.

He looked down at Magnus fondly. “That sounds like a great dream,” he said, dipping his down down to capture Magnus’s lips in his own. Magnus returned the kiss, their lips moving together in sync. The two of them wrapped their arms around each other, losing themselves in the bliss of the moment.

“Daddy! Papa!” A small voice said, interrupting their moment.

Alec heard Magnus let out a sigh. “Well, I guess we actually have to get up now, huh?” He smiled up at him.

“Guess so,” Alec replied, rubbing his thumb across Magnus's cheek.

“Go see what our little trouble makers are up to, Alexander. The situation at the hospital with Catarina got rather messy, so I am in desperate need of a shower,” Magnus said, looking apologetic.

“Hey, it’s fine. You deserve a relaxing shower after the week we've had. Go and make yourself look pretty,” he said, smirking at Magnus.

“Thank you, dear,” Magnus said, kissing Alec one last time on the lips.

Alec got up to throw on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. He went to go brush his teeth, and readied himself to walk into whatever chaos that was sure to be happening outside the bedroom door. Though, he wouldn't change any of it for the world. This was his little family, and he loved it.

****

When Alec shut the bedroom door to walk into the living room, Rafael and Max were sitting on the couch with Chairman Meow and Church. Alec walked towards them, and ruffled their hair.

“Good morning, you two,” he said, sitting down in the armchair next to them.

“Daddy!” Max exclaimed. “I want to show you something!”

“Oh?” Alec said, raising his eyebrow at his son. “What is it that you want to show me?”

“Don’t do it, Max,” Rafe said in warning. “It's a bad idea.”

“Rafe, just let me show him!”

“Boys!” Alec said sternly. “What is going on? What is it that you want to show me, Max?” He asked, curious.

Max smiled brightly. “Here, let me show you, Daddy.” He turned back toward Chairman and Church, a determined look on his face. “Okay, feast your eyes! I’m about to turn this plain, gray colored cat orange!” Max announced.

Alec saw Rafael cover his eyes, and he realized what was about to happen.

“Um, Max?” He said, slightly panicked. “I don’t think-”

He never got to finish his sentence because then, all of a sudden, a big cloud of blue smoke erupted from Max’s hands, and blowing into Alec’s face.

When the smoke was starting to clear, Alec was starting to cough harshly, trying to get the residue of magic smoke out of his lungs. Though, when he finally was able to open his eyes, he was met with quite the surprise; Chairman Meow was turned bright pink!

****

Alec was too flabbergasted by the sight to do anything but stare, open mouthed. When he finally came to his senses, he was met with tears and rushed apologies.

“Max!” Rafael shouted at his younger brother. “I told you not to do it!”

“I’m so sorry, Daddy! I’m so sorry! I- I tried to do it exactly the way Papa told me, b- but-” Max was cut off by the sound of a door closing, and rushed footsteps.

“Is everything alright out here?” Magnus said out of breathe, hair still wet from his shower. “I heard a crash, and-” he looked over the edge of the couch, and the face he made was almost comical. “Oh, my God...wha- what happened here!” Magnus shouted. “What happened to Chairman Meow? I can’t- wait, it happened to Church too? Why are both the cats pink?”

Alec was shocked; one because Magnus hardly ever shouted like this, so it was strange seeing him yell, and two because he didn't even notice that Church was also turned pink. He heard Max take in a shaky breath, so he looked over to see more tears streaming down his little face.

“Papa, I- I was just trying out that spell you taught me to turn Chairman orange, b-but something went wrong, and-”

“Max, I've told you countless times to not practice and spells when I’m not around. Have I not?” Magnus said.

“Yeah, you have,” Max replied, looking down at his lap.

Magnus crossed his arms. “Then why did you do it?”

Max shrugged his shoulders.

Magnus sighed, and knelt down next to Max on the couch. “Okay, Max, look. I'll let it go this time, but next time something like this happens, there will be consequences. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Papa,” Max said, his voice still sounding teary.

“Alright then. I want you to go to your room for a little bit, okay? Rafe, you go with him to keep him company.”

The two boys got up, and walked to their shared room.

****

Alec sighed, collapsing onto the couch. Magnus followed soon after, feeling just as exasperated, Alec was sure.

“Wow. I definitely didn’t expect to wake up to that,” Alec said, staring off at the wall in front of him.

“Hm, me neither, my dear,” Magnus replied, leaning his head on Alec’s shoulder; also staring at the wall. “Well, I might as well clean up these cats while I’m sitting here,” he said, walking over to the couch next to him to pick up Chairman Meow in one hand.

“Magnus,” Alec said. “Max said that you taught him that spell, but it obviously went wrong. What was it supposed to do?”

Before replying, Magnus placed his hand above the small cats’ head, blue sparks of magic flowing from his fingertips, turning Chairman Meow back to his normal shade of gray. “It was supposed to turn his orange; like a Calico cat. He must have read the spell wrong while he was reading it.” He then reached over to pick up Church, who was not at all pleased to be lifted. Magnus swore under his breath when Church swiped at him with his paw. “Anyway, I’m not going to allow him to practice magic on his own, anymore. He needs to have me, or another suitable warlock, watching him whenever he practices. How does that sound, Alexander?”

Alec thought about that for a moment. “That sounds fair. So, how long does he have to stay in his room with Rafe?”

“Just for a few more minutes. He’s only 5 years old, after all. We can’t punish him too harshly, you know?”

Alec nodded in agreement. “So, what should we do after they’re finished?”

“I have an idea that I think they’d like,” Magnus responded, walking into the kitchen, and opening up the cabinets; taking out ingredients, and setting them up along the counter.

By the Angel, Alec thought, I love my family.

 


	2. A Glittery Situation

Magnus and Alec walk down the hall to the boys’ room, looking at each other with knowing looks. Alec reached out his hand to softly knock on the door.

“Max? Rafe? We’re coming in now, okay?” Alec said, waiting for a response. When he heard a barely audible, “okay, Daddy,” he turned the doorknob to open the door, and him and Magnus walked inside. Alec looked towards Magnus, and nodded his head in a “go ahead” gesture. Magnus nodded in agreement.

Magnus walked over to Max’s bed, and sat down. “Hey there, sweetheart,” he said in a gentle voice. “You understand why Papa and Daddy had to send you to your room, right.

Max’s lip wobbled slightly, and he bowed his head down; though, Magnus could see the slight nod of his head.

Alec walked over to sit down next to them as Magnus scooped the little boy up into his arms, and sat him down on his lap. He looked over at Rafael sitting on his bed across from Max’s. “Rafe, sweetheart, you can come over to here too,” he said, holding out his arms for Rafael to run into. Rafael jumped into Alec’s arms, and wrapped in small arms around his neck. “Hey, you two, no more long faces. Me and Papa have a surprise for you both.” Max and Rafe both looked up at Alec with wonder in their eyes. Alec looked to Magnus to continue.

“How would two like to help us make pancakes for breakfast?” Magnus asked them. They both immediately spun their heads to look at him; huge smiles on their faces. “We have a lot of pancakes to make, and me and Daddy can’t possibly do it all ourselves. What do you say, hm?”

“Ooh, ooh, ooh! Can we Papa, can we?” Max asked, excitement in his big, brown eyes.

Alec saw Magnus smile brightly. “Of course, Max. How about you, Rafe?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah! Let’s go, let’s go!” Rafael said, reaching for Alec’s hand, and tugging on it.

Alec couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up inside him. “Don’t worry, you’ll both be able to help out plenty. You just have to promise me and your Papa that you won't fight, or cause any trouble. Alright?”

“We promise,” the two boys said simultaneously, nodding their heads.

“Okay. Go ahead and wait for us in the kitchen. We’ll be right out,” Magnus said to them. As Max and Rafael ran out the bedroom door into the kitchen area, Magnus walked over to Alec, dropping his head onto his shoulder; exhaling a sigh of relief. “Dear God, Alexander. It’s only 9:30 in the morning, and we’ve already had to scold one of the boys for something silly.”

Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus’s waist. “Yeah, well, it happens. It’s all part of being parents, Magnus. My mother used to tell us stories about how me and my sister used to wake her up at 7:00 in the morning because we were doing some ridiculous thing that woke her up. It’s a normal thing for kids to do,” Alec explained.

Magnus lifted his head up from Alec’s shoulder, and smiled up at him, reaching his hand up to cup Alec’s cheek. “Hmm. Sometimes I miss the days when Max was still a little baby, and wasn't so eager to learn how to use his magic. It's hard to keep a lid on a child who’s so rambunctious. I’m just worried that one day he’ll want to try something while I'm not around, and he’ll accidentally hurt himself, or someone else around him,” Magnus said, a distressed look on his face.

Alec reached his own hand to the back of Magnus’s head, trailing his fingers across the short hairs there. He felt Magnus’s body slightly shiver at the slight movement. “Believe me, Magnus, I’m just as worried for when Rafael wants to start his Shadowhunter training. We typically start training young Shadowhunters when they're about eight or nine, so he has a few years to go yet, but he can still be curious about it. We just have to make sure to enforce the fact that they can’t practice without one of us around, you know? I don't want what happened this morning to happen again.”

“You’re absolutely right, Alexander. We need to keep our boys as safe as possible while training,” Magnus said, leaning his head up to kiss Alec sweetly on the lips. Alec returned the kiss, continuing to trail his fingers across Magnus’s scalp. Magnus pulled away, saying, “we should get out there, Alexander. I want to avoid another catastrophe if possible,” he said, a smile blooming across his face that looked like he was trying to hold back laughter, but it still looked beautiful on him nonetheless.

Alec smiled back at him, and then, out of nowhere, a big clang! sound sounded from the kitchen, followed by a fit of giggles.

Magnus cursed under his breath. “Come on, let’s go!” He said hurriedly, grabbing onto Alec’s hand to pull him with him out the bedroom door. Alec couldn't help the cheerful laugh that burst out of him.

I love my family, he thought to himself.

****

Alec and Magnus rushed out into the kitchen to see Max and Rafael playing with the various pans and bowls that were stocked in the cabinets. Alec let out a sigh of relief. At least they aren’t harming themselves.

“Come on, you two, let’s clean this up,” Alec said, going over to help the boys put away bowls and pans. “I don’t want you to accidentally hurt yourselves.”

“Okay, Daddy,” Max said, helping Alec put away everything, and was soon followed by Rafael going to do the same thing.

Magnus walked over to the kitchen counter to gather up the ingredients he had taken out earlier. “Max, Rafael, front and center!” He said in a mock-official voice. Max and Rafael let out soft giggles at their Papa’s antics, and scurried over to the counter to meet him.

Alec got up off the floor, and walked over just in time to see Magnus make a pancake recipe appear in his hand with just a snap of his fingers. He gave Magnus a hard look. “Really, Magnus? You know that our flash drive with recipes is hanging on the refrigerator,” he said, trying hard to make a disapproving face, but failing due to his mouth quivering into a smile. It’s impossible for him to stay mad at Magnus for long.

Magnus put on his adorable pout. “But Alexander, you know that that’s no fun. Why waste time searching through a flash drive on a computer when you can just…” he does a dramatic movement with his hands, “make one appear out of thin air.”

Alec pats him on the chest. “Whatever you say, Magnus. Let’s take a look at this recipe, hmm?” Magnus chuckled, and kissed Alec on the cheek. As he was reading the recipe, he heard Magnus whispering. “Your Daddy is silly, isn’t he?” He heard him say to Max and Rafael.

Alec turned around with a mock-shocked look on his face. “You’ve turned my own children against me!” The boys started laughing at their own accord, and Magnus even let out some laughs.

“Okay, okay! Enough of this hullabaloo. Let's get started on these pancakes before it's not even breakfast time anymore,” Magnus said, trying to stifle his giggles.

Alec watched as Max and Rafe were helping Magnus with pouring the flour and cracking the eggs into the mixing bowl. Magnus loved making pancakes with the boys. And Alec? He loved making waffles with them. It was a kind of a tradition in their family; some mornings they would make pancakes, and other mornings they would make waffles. Family. The word always made Alec feel so warm inside.

Alec was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of Max’s voice.

“Ooh, Papa! Can I pour the milk?” Max asked, jumping up and down.

“Well, sweetheart, you’ve already poured the flour, so that wouldn't be fair, would it? How about we let Daddy pour in the milk?” Magnus suggested, raising his eyebrows at Alec, silently asking for a confirmation.

“I’d love to!” Alec replied over enthusiastically. “Hey Max, how about you stir while I pour?”

“Okay!” Max replied.

“I’ll help stir, too!” Rafe said soon after.

Alec picked up the glass measuring cup filled with milk, and began to carefully pour it into the bowl. While Max and Rafe were busy taking turns stirring the pancake mixture, Alec took notice of a small dusting of flour on the edge of the counter. A mischievous idea popped into Alec’s head just then, and he discreetly pushed the small pile of flour into his palm. He saw Magnus standing by the cabinets; starting to put some of the ingredients away.

“Hey, Magnus?” Alec called out to him, hoping the waver in his voice wouldn’t give him away.

“Yes, love?”

“Come’ere. I need to show you something.”

“Okay. Is everything alright, Alexander?” Magnus asked, concern lacing his voice.

Once Magnus got close enough, he opened up his palm, took a deep breath, a blew the dusting of flour right into Magnus’s hair. Alec held his breath for a second, waiting to see how Magnus would react.

“Alexander! How could you do such a horrible thing to me?” Magnus screeched, a eyes so wide that it was almost comical. “I just showered, and don't you know that water and flour are a horrible combination? I jus- what are you laughing at?”

Alec was indeed laughing. He was laughing so hard that he was bent over, and clutching his stomach. “By the Angel, Magnus! The look on your face! Ha ha!” Alec exclaimed cheerfully. He saw Magnus’s mouth quirk into a smirk, and then he started to laugh.

“Alexander, it's not funny!” He shouted through fits of giggles. He leaned forward to rest his head against Alec’s shoulder; trying to catch his breath. “Dear God, Alexander. You're going to be the death of me,” Magnus said, leaning up to place a kiss on Alec’s jawline.

“I couldn't help it. You're so adorable when you laugh.”

Magnus's face lit up at the compliment. “Well, you're absolutely stunning when you laugh, my dear,” he said, placing a second kiss on Alec’s lips.

“Daddy, Papa! I thought we were gonna make pancakes,” Rafe shouted. “You're just standing there kissing.”

Alec smiled brightly at that, and walked over to scoop up Rafael into his arms, and spun him around. “Oh, yeah, buddy? You wanna make some pancakes? Well, let's get cracking then,” Alec said, scattering little kisses over Rafe’s forehead.

Giggling, Rafael said, “put me down, Daddy! Let me down!”

Ten minutes later, Rafael, Max, Alec, and Magnus had made a full plate a chocolate chip pancakes that were stacked about a foot high.

“Oh, these look delicious, you guys!” Magnus exclaimed, looking down at the towering plate. “I don't even know which one to try first.”

“Try this one, Papa,” Max suggested, pointing to a rather large pancake on the side of the pile. “That is one of the ones I made.”

“Alright, here is goes,” Magnus said, placing it on his own plate, and drizzling some maple syrup over it.

After they finished their pancakes, Magnus got up out of his seat. “Alrighty. Since your Daddy got flour in my freshly washed hair, I need to go wash it out before we start our day. I'll only be a couple of minutes,” he said, playfully glaring at Alec.

As he walked off into the bedroom, Alec smiled cheekily back at him, and got up from his seat.

“How about we clean up the table while Papa is getting ready, hmm? That way we can get our day started a lot quicker.

“Okay!” Max and Rafe said in unison.

As they were placing the dishes into the dishwasher, Alec felt a small boom drift through the apartment.

“What in the world…” Alec said to himself. Right after the rumbling stopped, Alec could hear Magnus cursing out loud from the bedroom.

“Magnus!” Alec called out, running to the bedroom to see what was wrong.

****

“Magnus, are you ok-”

Alec rushed into the bedroom, and stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw. The entire back wall facing the bed was covered in glitter! Alec was gaping like a fish. He noticed that even the golden bedsheets, that were normally rather shimmery, were lightly coated in glitter.

“Ah...Alexander? I, um, I can explain,” Magnus said while standing by the dresser.

“Magnus! What the hell?” Alec asked, truly beside himself.

“Well, you know that glitter bath bomb I bought last month? I finally found it, but I noticed that it was starting to crumble, so I tried putting a spell on it to make it last longer. And, well, you can clearly see what happened,” Magnus said, gesturing at the wall.


	3. You Want to Take a Bath in What?!

Alec looked around the room and chuckled. “Everyone sure is messy this morning, huh?” Alec asked, taking in Magnus’s disheveled appearance. “Even you're coated in glitter.”

Magnus reached his hand up to touch his hair, and sighed. “Well, it definitely adds to the mess on me that was already there.”

“Are you going to take another shower, or are you just going to rinse out your hair?” Alec asked.

“I might as well just take a full shower as I've got glitter in other places besides my hair. Don’t worry, I won't be too long. We’ll still be able leave on our little trip around town at a reasonable hour,” Magnus said while walking towards the bathroom door. “Oh, and you're welcome to join me,” he said, looking over his shoulder at Alec with a questioning look in his eyes.

Despite the slight heat blooming on his cheeks, he smiled a goofy smile. “Sorry, Magnus. I’d love to, but someone’s gotta keep an ear out for the boys. Who know what other messes could be made when we’re not paying attention, you know?”

“Hmm, good point! Maybe next time, then,” Magnus replied, winking an eye at Alec as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Alec smiled, and shook his head fondly at Magnus, and then sat down on the bed to pick up a book, and start reading while he waited.

****

After about ten minutes, Magnus got out of the shower. Alec, still sitting on the bed, put down his book, and started getting his things together to go out. Wallet, phone, stele, jacket, sunglasses. Yep. Everything’s together. While he was waiting, he’d been listening to the boys playing in the other room. It was nice to just bask in the peacefulness of it.

Just then, pulling Alec from his thoughts, Magnus walks out of bathroom wearing one of his nice robes.

“Hello there, Alexander,” Magnus said flirtatiously.

“Hello, yourself,” Alec replied. He loved those robes that Magnus would wear. They were just so soft, and he loved to cuddle and kiss him while he wore them.

Magnus winked at him, and walked over to his spacious, and very colorful, closet. He was in there for a few minutes before he finally emerged. He was wearing plain, black skinny jeans, and a maroon colored button up shirt with little designs on it. The first few buttons were unbuttoned, showing off some of his chest. Alec thought Magnus looked stunning in any outfit that he wears, but he always looks exceptionally stunning in a simple outfit like that one.

“What do you think, Alexander? I thought that since we’re gonna be doing a lot of walking today that I’d dress a little simpler.”

Alec walks over to him, and wraps his arms around his waist to pull him closer. “I think you look beautiful as always.” Throughout the years they’ve been together, Alec has gotten much more comfortable saying such bold things like that, and it no longer flusters him like it used to. Besides, it was such a true statement; he couldn't not say it out loud.

Magnus’s face lit up with a happy glow. He leaned his head up to pull Alec into a sweet kiss. “Why, thank you! You’ve become quite the flatterer, Alexander.”

“Well, I did learn from the best.”

Magnus smiled up at him again, and ran his fingers through the hairs at the back of Alec’s head. He pulled him in for one last passionate kiss before pulling away. “Come on. I need to finish getting ready, then we can get going. Okay?” Magnus said softy; their foreheads touching.

“Okay,” Alec replied, placing a sweet kiss to the corner of Magnus’s mouth.

Magnus walked towards his vanity, and looked into his mirror. He ran his fingers through his wet hair, and it changed into an up-do of neat curls piled on top of his head. Then he waved his fingers in front of his face, and then appeared his signature smoky eye with a touch of glitter here and there.

“Normally I would spend more time getting ready, of course, but we have more important things to do. I'll be out in the living room whenever you're ready,” Magnus said, strutting out of the bedroom.

Alec watched in admiration as he walked off. He was so in love with this man, it was almost impossible. How had he lived without him for so long?

****

After everyone had gotten ready, and after struggling to get Max and Rafael’s jackets on, they were out the door, and ready to go.

“Daddy, Papa, where are we gonna go first?” Max asked excitedly.

“Yeah, where?” Rafe repeated soon after.

Alec looked at Magnus in question, but he just shrugged his shoulders, and shook his head. Didn’t really plan ahead, he mouthed out to Alec.

Alec rolled his eyes fondly. “Wherever you want. We have the whole day to do fun things.”

Max and Rafael both gasped happily at that.

“Ooh, ooh! Can we go to the candy store? Or to the pet store?” Rafael asked. He's always been very fond of animals.

“Can we go to the toy store?” Max chimed in.

“Woah, woah, woah! One at a time, you two,” Magnus said. “Also, I just remembers that we do need to stop at the grocery store to buy a few things. Then we can go to the fun store that you want to visit. Okay?”

“Okay, Papa,” Max and Rafael both said in unison, still lightly bouncing on their feet.

****

They finally made it to their local grocery store after walking for a few more blocks. It was a small shop, but it still had everything any other grocery store would have; it was just in a smaller space.

Alec grabbed a shopping cart, and he brought it over to Magnus, and Max and Rafe.

“Okay, first things first; we need to pick out what we’re having for dinner tonight,” Alec said.

“I agree,” Magnus said. “So, what you two want for dinner? It can be anything except for that fish we had last week. We are never buying that again,” Magnus said in a definite tone.

Max giggled at that. “How about spaghetti and meatballs? You like spaghetti and meatballs, don’t you Rafe?”

“Sure do! Yeah, let's get that!”

Alec chuckled. “Alright, spaghetti and meatballs it is. Is that okay with you, Magnus?”

“Of course,” Magnus said as he linked arms with Alec.

They walked down the many different aisles until they reached the aisle that had the many different variety of pastas.

Max ran over, and picked up a box of spaghetti. “Yum, spaghetti. Hey, Daddy? Can we get enough spaghetti to take a bath in it?”

 _What the hell? Where did that come from?_ Alec thought. He sure was shocked to say the least. “What? Max, why would you want to do something so silly?”

“Uncle Jace told me about it. He said that he used to take baths in spaghetti when he was my age, and he said that it was so much fun!”

 _Curse you, Jace._ “Hold on a second, sweetheart. Hey, Magnus, can you watch after these two? I just need to make a quick phone call.”

“Sure thing, love,” Magnus called back at him.

Alec took out his phone, and dialed Jace’s number. After about three rings, Jace picked up.

_Hey, buddy, what's up?_

“Jace, have you been implanting your ridiculous ideas into my kids’ heads?” Alec asked him, letting his anger show.

 _Umm, what do you mean?_ Jace asked, clearly oblivious to the situation.

Alec sighed. “Me and Magnus are at the grocery store with the boys, and Max just told me that he wants to take a bath in spaghetti. He also said that _you_ were the one who told him that!”

 _Oh, that’s right!_ Jace responded, laughing out loud. _I did tell him that. It was that time when me and Clary were babysitting for you guys, and Max asked me to tell him a story about when I was a kid. What’s so bad about that?_

“Jace, I'm not gonna let my son bathe in spaghetti!”

_Well, why not?_

“Well, because it's disgusting, and a waste of perfectly good spaghetti.”

_Oh, come on, Alec! Why do you have to be like that? I know that you don't like to have fun, but you could at least let your own kids have fun._

“This has nothing to do with not letting them have fun! It's just...you know what? I'll talk to you more about this tomorrow. I'm trying to have a good day with my family, and not fight. You're still an idiot, though.”

 _Come on, admit it. You love me._ He could just here the cockyness in his voice.

Alec smirked at that. “Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow, Jace,” he said, hanging up the phone.

Magnus walked over to him with a concerned expression on his face. “We got the pasta that the boys wanted. Is everything okay?”

Alec cupped Magnus’s neck with the hand not holding his phone. “It's all good. Just Jace being an idiot.”

Magnus snorted. “Hmm, what else is new?”

Alec laughed out loud at that, wrapping his arm around Magnus’s shoulders, and pushing the cart down the aisle with the boys in front of them; Max still chattering on about spaghetti baths.

****

After a day of grocery shopping, going to toy stores, some clothing stores that Magnus liked, and buying some pastries from their favorite bakery, Alec, Magnus, and their little family made it back home to their Brooklyn apartment, utterly exhausted from their day.

They had their spaghetti and meatballs dinner, which Max and Rafael helped him and Magnus make. It was delicious.

At the end of their wonderful day, Magnus and Alec tucked their lovely children into bed, and said goodnight.

Then, they got into their own bed, and snuggled up together under the covers.

“I had so much fun today, Alexander. You know, except for the few mishaps we had this morning,” Magnus said, his smile lighting up his whole face.

“Me too, Magnus. We need to have family outing days like this more often, don't you think?”

“Of course. We most definitely do. It won't be too hard, but we’ll make it work.”

Alec smiled at him, and kissed him on the cheek, under his eye, and then kissed him full on the lips; both sweetly and passionately at once. As they started to drift off to sleep, safe in each other's arms, one thing kept popping into Alec’s mind.

He loved his little family, and he wouldn't trade it for the world.


End file.
